Online Coin Auctions

Michael Bugeja

Michael Bugeja, a coin collector since childhood, is a professor at Iowa State University and also a former member of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. He is a nationally known author, journalist and educator.

PVC in online coin auctions

This 1922-S Peace Dollar has telltale PVC problems (green streaks) from being stored in a soft vinyl flip. But it can be saved.

​Increasingly, older coin
collections are going to auction, many of which are conducted online
via Proxibid, HiBid and other portals. Often those coins were kept
in soft vinyl flips that interact with metal to cause various states
of corrosive damage.

PVC is the abbreviation for polyvinyl
chloride, a chemical composition. For flips to be pliable,
manufacturers added a “plasticizer,” which emits gasses that
trigger the corrosion, especially in the warm, dank environments
where many collections have been stored.

Some damage can be fixed, as in the coin depicted
above, using conservation techniques as offered by Numismatic
Conservation Services and PCGS Restoration Services. Coin dealers
and experienced numismatists also know how to remove PVC
contamination, but we don’t recommend doing that, especially if
you are an inexperienced collector.

The point in this post is learning to recognize and
cherrypick PVC coins that can be restored, like this 1922-S that
came in a vinyl flip offered by Weaver Signature Coin and Currency
auction. I won it with a $49 bid. Currently it is in the process
of being restored. I’ll let you know what grade it gets when I
receive it after conservation.

I bid on the coin because streaks can be eliminated
with proper conservation techniques. When PVC is caked, or causes
obvious pock marks in the metal, then you should bypass the coin.

I believe the coin I won to be Mint State 64 (worth
about $225) with a shot at MS-65 (worth $1,000+). The 1922-S, the
second largest mintage in the series, typically suffers from weak
strike and is a condition rarity, with MS-66 considered a super
rarity by major holdering companies. So, I like my chances at conservation.